Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

LaunchBox VS ScummVM

Compare LaunchBox VS ScummVM and see what are their differences

LaunchBox logo LaunchBox

LaunchBox is a portable, box-art-based games database and launcher for DOSBox, emulators, arcade cabinets, and PC Games. Download it free!

ScummVM logo ScummVM

Game engine recreation of SCUMM made by LucasArts.
  • LaunchBox Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30
  • ScummVM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-26

LaunchBox features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    LaunchBox offers an intuitive and sleek interface that makes it easy for users to organize and access their game library, even if they are not tech-savvy.
  • Wide Emulator Support
    It supports a wide range of emulators, allowing users to play games from multiple platforms within a single application.
  • Customizability
    LaunchBox provides various options for customizing the look and feel of your game library, including custom themes and artwork.
  • Big Box Mode
    Big Box is a premium feature that offers a full-screen, TV-friendly interface ideal for home theater setups or those using a game console setup.
  • Regular Updates
    The software is regularly updated with new features, improvements, and bug fixes, ensuring that users have a continuously improving experience.
  • Community Support
    LaunchBox has a strong community of users who contribute to forums, share custom themes, and create guides, making it easier for newcomers to get started.

Possible disadvantages of LaunchBox

  • Cost
    While LaunchBox offers a free version, many advanced features such as Big Box mode require a paid license, which might be a drawback for some users.
  • Resource Intensive
    The application can be resource-heavy, particularly when dealing with large game libraries, potentially affecting the performance of older or less powerful systems.
  • Setup Complexity
    Initial setup can be time-consuming and somewhat complicated, particularly for users new to emulation or those with extensive game collections.
  • Dependency on Emulators
    The quality of the gaming experience often depends on the performance and compatibility of third-party emulators, over which LaunchBox has no control.
  • Limited Native Features
    Some features, like automatic game configuration, are not natively built into LaunchBox and require additional plugins or manual setup.

ScummVM features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    ScummVM is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and even mobile platforms. This allows users to play their favorite classic games on almost any device.
  • Supports Multiple Game Engines
    Originally designed for LucasArts' SCUMM games, ScummVM now supports a variety of game engines, making it possible to play a wide range of classic adventure games from different developers.
  • Enhanced Graphics
    ScummVM often enhances the graphics of older games, providing options like anti-aliasing and graphic scaling filters to improve visual quality on modern screens.
  • Active Community and Development
    ScummVM has an active community and continuous development, meaning new features and engine support are regularly added, and bugs are frequently fixed.
  • Portability
    ScummVM allows players to easily transfer saved games from one platform to another, enhancing the convenience and flexibility for users who switch devices.

Possible disadvantages of ScummVM

  • Limited to Supported Games
    ScummVM only supports specific games that are compatible with its supported engines, so it cannot run all classic games, particularly those using proprietary or unsupported engines.
  • Original Game Files Required
    Users must own the original game files to use with ScummVM, which can be a barrier for those who don't have access to their old games or if the games are no longer commercially available.
  • Complex Setup for Some Games
    While many games are easy to set up, others might require additional configuration or technical know-how, particularly when dealing with older or less common titles.
  • Sound Emulation Issues
    There can be occasional sound emulation problems, with some games experiencing issues with music or sound effects, though this is less common with continuous updates.
  • Legal and Licensing Concerns
    While ScummVM itself is legal and open source, users must ensure they legally own the games they play, and there can be licensing issues with obtaining or distributing the original game files.

LaunchBox videos

The Best Emulation Frontend For Windows? - LaunchBox / Big Box

More videos:

  • Review - LaunchBox - Review and Setup Guide!
  • Review - LaunchBox Review and Setup

ScummVM videos

ScummVM Retrospective - Lessons learnt, from games preserved.

More videos:

  • Review - Retroid Pocket 2 - ScummVM PERFECT Emulation - 14 ADVENTURE GAMES - Tribute to the 90s
  • Review - ScummVM Test Raspberry pi 3 Retropie 3.8.1

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to LaunchBox and ScummVM)
Gaming
88 88%
12% 12
Emulators
88 88%
12% 12
Gaming Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Gaming Software
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using LaunchBox and ScummVM. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare LaunchBox and ScummVM

LaunchBox Reviews

Best Free Game Launcher for Windows PC
The initially DOSBox emulator front end, LaunchBox, has integrated more features to its stacks. It allows you to play previously downloaded games. LaunchBox is pretty flexible, you can set the settings as well as customize it as per your likes.
5 best game launcher software for Windows PC
The software is partnered with EmuMovies so that you can quickly add associated box art, fan art, logos, screenshots and videos to your game database. LaunchBox will also find all associated metadata of title, genre, release, platform, etc.
The Three best Windows game launcher software to organize your game library
This software is compatible with Windows platforms from Vista on, and the publisher hints there might also be future Mac and Linux versions. LaunchBox has a freeware and Premium version with extra customization options and a Big Box Mode. The Premium version of the software is currently retailing at $20. LaunchBox is comparable to Photon Game Manager as it enables users to...
Source: zobuz.com
Top 6 best launcher games to launch and organize PC games
Depending on the launcher, LaunchBox may not find your game. Therefore you need to add it manually. However, if you are looking for a launcher that can handle Pitfall as well as the latest Tom Clancy game, Launchbox is worth considering.
Source: tipsmake.com

ScummVM Reviews

12 Best Gaming Console Emulators for Mac in 2022
ScummVM is a program that allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games, provided you already have their data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they were never designed!. Download
Source: thebingeful.com
10 Emulators To Turn Your Computer Into A Retro Console
If you’re a fan of the old style click-and-point adventures, you’re sure to enjoy ScummVM. This program was design to run games that uses the SCUMM scripting language, which was used in many click-and-point games made by LucasArts as well as other companies.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ScummVM seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 3 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

LaunchBox mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of LaunchBox yet. Tracking of LaunchBox recommendations started around Mar 2021.

ScummVM mentions (3)

  • Looking for help with “Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis” on Windows 98 SE
    Download ScummVM from https://scummvm.org and that should help you with a number of those issues, notably the garbled sound on a fast CPU. ScummVM replaces the original binaries/exe file for essentially all LucasArts games and fixes a lot of bugs too. You can run originally copies on dozens of different OSes. Source: over 2 years ago
  • macOS 8 Running in the Browser
    Getting Scummvm https://scummvm.org and select the path for the mounted image. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Question about playing Manhunter: New York on a Windows 10 PC
    Archive.org has everything you need in terms of the game and manuals here. In some cases you can directly download the game files for playing with ScummVM which will allow you to play the game on many different types of computers/operating systems. Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing LaunchBox and ScummVM, you can also consider the following products

RetroArch - RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.

DOSBox - DOSBox is a DOS-emulator that uses the SDL-library.

Playnite - Source code generated using layoutit.com

Batocera.linux - Batocera.linux is an open-source and completely free retro-gaming distribution that can be copied to a USB stick or an SD card with the aim of turning any computer/nano computer into a gaming console during a game or permanently.

OpenEmu - Console and Arcade video game emulator for macOS.

ResidualVM - ResidualVM is a cross-platform 3D game interpreter which allows you to play LucasArts'...